


And so the sun rises

by YellingAtPlants



Category: Merlin (TV)
Genre: Dad Merlin (Merlin), Gen, Merlin being the best
Language: English
Status: Completed
Published: 2020-07-06
Updated: 2020-07-06
Packaged: 2021-03-05 05:35:13
Rating: General Audiences
Warnings: No Archive Warnings Apply
Chapters: 1
Words: 1,059
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/25109332
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/YellingAtPlants/pseuds/YellingAtPlants
Summary: Despite all that Daegal did, Merlin chooses to forgive and forget. The two grow closer as time goes by, bonding over magic.
Relationships: Daegal & Merlin (Merlin)
Comments: 19
Kudos: 109





	And so the sun rises

**Author's Note:**

> I'm a sucker for dad merlin, maybe i'll write another chapter of this lol

Despte being told multiple times by Gaius that the boy couldn’t be trusted, Merlin still found himself taking Daegal under his wing. Although the boy wasn’t really a druid, he showed a promising amount of talent for making potions. Merlin found him easy to talk to, and often they would be awake until the early hours of the morning talking about spells and family, dragons and herbs. Anything, and Daegal would listen closely to his every word, holding on with rapt attention. 

It made it easier to balance his two jobs. Instead of rushing his rounds and being late to wake the King, Daegal would take his morning potion rounds for him while he got the food from the kitchens. When in reality he was actually getting less sleep, he felt far more rested and whole. He didn’t have to hide from Daegal, he already knew about his magic, and it felt like a weight had lifted from his chest the first time he told the boy about Aithusa, and when Daegal offered to help him save her he could have sworn he cried. Together they worked on finding a spell that could fix her deformities, spending long nights awake and usually falling asleep on one another, Daegal began to lean magic, little spells that helped around the castle when nobody was looking. They spent Merlin’s very rare days off near the lake, sharing stories of the things that happened in the castle that nobody knew about, eating lunch that Merlin made float out of nowhere.

Merlin began to hope again. The closer he got to Daegal, the less alone he felt. Suddenly, he understood why many people feared him. He became gentler with others, working on the smaller spells, going back over the basics that he had long since forgotten, stopped paying attention to. Daegal balanced him out in a way he couldn’t do himself, and even Gaius bonded with the boy.

He was proud of Daegal for the tiniest things, and it made Merlin feel so much happier to have a genuine friend, one who knew him for who he really was. He began to see the boy like a son, knew that if anything happened to him, he would do everything in his power to bring him back.

Sometimes, Daegal would vanish for days at a time, and Merlin would only smile when asked, replying with “Herbs”, knowing full well that the boy was bonding with his dragonet. He would join the boy late in the evenings, and the three of them would spend nights together, teaching Aithusa new skills, learning spells, training, and just being free.

When Merlin went missing, Daegal almost tore Camelot apart looking for him. He was the one that healed Merlin, nursed him back to health with the help of the Physician. He saw Merlin as his father, looked up to him. Even after all he had done to him, Merlin had been willing to forgive and forget. Everyone had told him to send Daegal away, and here he was, safe under his mentoring wing, learning spells he never believed he could do, genuine magic that spread a warmth inside him. Merlin had done so much for him, and the least the boy could do was some of the worse jobs. It didn’t matter to him if he had to clean the leeches twice a month, or grind up eggshells for Gaius, he was so grateful to Merlin. 

For the first week of Daegal being in Camelot, Merlin had slept on the floor, giving up his small cot so that he could catch up on the sleep he’d missed while working under Morgana. Sir Gwaine, the knight that liked him the most, had given them his old cot after noticing Merlin limping around thanks to the stiffness in his legs. Daegal got on well with the flirtatious knight, often getting him out of trouble when Merlin inevitably found him in a tavern.

The day Daegal accidentally called Merlin his father was both the most embarrassing, and best day of his life. They had been at the training grounds with the knights, Arthur showing off as always while Merlin had to rush around and get new swords and maces each time the king swapped weapons. Merlin hadn’t slept that knight, had gone to reinforce the magical barrier around the entirety of Camelot. The taxing spell always left Merlin feeling drained, but the man refused to ask for a day to rest, so Daegal offered to help. He hadn’t expected the words “Dad, you look tired, why don’t you rest a moment?” to come out of his own mouth, and clearly nobody else had either, because for a moment, all activity stopped. Merlin had frozen, blinking at him with his mouth open. Arthur stirred first.

“Pick your jaw up off the ground, idiot, and sit down, you look like you’re going to collapse. Daegal, do me a favour and pass me that mace.” Daegal hurried to do as he was asked, receiving a nod of thanks from the king before he turned back to his knights, clapping loud enough to startle half of them out of their skins, clearing everyone of the strange stupor they had fallen into. Daegal settled on the bench beside Merlin and offered him a shy smile.

“Sorry, about that, I didn’t mean for that to come out.” He was once again surprised when merlin threw his arms around his shoulders and tugged him close in a kind embrace. He had never known Merlin to be a tactile person, but knew he used to be, and treasured the hug, resting his head on Merlin’s shoulder.

“You know what Daegal, its quite alright. Feel free to call me that anytime.” Although merlin was smiling, sounded confident, it was clear to him that the man was touched. There were tears at the edges of his eyes, and his magic was thrumming happily in the air around them. a small blue flower began to grow at his feet, curling in small fractions of gold until large leaves unfurled in different shades of blue. And Daegal knew it symbolised a true new beginning, the start of something beautiful, smiling up at the clear sky as the knights beat each other Into the dirt in shows of manliness.

Yes, his life was perfect indeed.

**Author's Note:**

> let me know what you thought <3


End file.
